Pressure Central America to act

by Candice Miller on July 16, 2014

I would like to respond to “Immigration reform is too long overdue,” the Times Herald’s June 28 editorial regarding immigration reform and my recent calls to cut off aid to the Mexican and Central American governments unwilling to help the U.S. stop the unprecedented surge of immigrant children being illegally smuggled from and through their countries across our southern border.

In your editorial, you call my request to cut off aid to these countries “short-sighted,” claiming the only way to stop the crisis is enacting effective immigration reform. The reality is immigration reform isn’t going to happen as long as the president refuses to work with Congress, and this situation is a crisis that requires immediate, decisive action.

This tsunami of children illegally entering the U.S. is a humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of innocent children are being put in grave danger by their parents with false hopes of amnesty and a better life in the U.S.

These young children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are at risk of violence, sexual assault and even death while their governments stand idly by, making no attempt to stop it. That’s why I have called on the United States to cut off aid, as well as re-examine special trade pacts, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central American Free Trade Agreement, until these counties are willing to take the action needed to resolve this problem.

This can’t wait, and it seems that the only way to motivate these countries to help their children is to stop paying them to do nothing.